Boketsu
by Everlasting Hello
Summary: How did he end up in a river? Why did he not remember anything? And, most importantly, what did she have to do with it all?


The storm clouds hid what little light the night had to offer. Rain poured down, making the river flood and eat up the land it normally didn't touch. Under the surface of the churning water, a boy was struggling for his life. He finally broke through the surface, taking a deep breath as he was pelted with rain. The river's current dragged him back under, his open mouth swallowing water instead of air. He kicked desperately and managed to surface again. This time he looked around frantically, and seeing what appeared to be the riverbank he started struggling towards it. The river dragged him under again, but as he went down he felt mud under his feet. He kicked back to the surface and swam until he reached the riverbank. Once he got on dry land he got to his feet and started staggering away from the river, but soon fell. He lay on the ground, letting the rain pelt him as he gasped for breath.

After a few minutes rest, he sat up and looked around. He had no clue where he was, or how he had ended up in the river. His hair was plastered to his forehead, and as he tried to brush it out of his eyes, he realized that it was stiff with mud. He was covered with mud, his clothes were glued to him with it. What had happened? He got up and took a few stumbling steps away from the river, then fell again. Where was he going? He didn't know where to go. He didn't remember anything. He curled up on the ground and closed his eyes, suddenly exhausted.

When he opened his eyes again, the rain had stopped. He got to his feet and looked at the river. It was still churning along quickly, and he knew to keep a safe distance from it. He noticed several pieces of debris scattered along the river's edge. It looked like some stuff had gotten caught in the current and washed up here. Something shiny caught his eye, and he leaned down to pick it up. It was a large shard of a mirror. He looked in it and gasped. The boy who stared back at him had pale eyes that almost seemed to glow against his mud-covered face. The shard dropped from his shaking hands.

"O21 Night Street..." His mouth moved on its own, and he realized that he was saying an address. "I should go there, right?" He nodded slowly as he turned and started walking unsteadily. He was still a bit shaky, but it wasn't as bad as when he had first escaped the river. As he walked, he kept rasping the address quietly to himself.

His pale eyes looked up at the door. He was standing in front of a house, the house that was at the address that he had remembered. It was still dark, but he knew that dawn wasn't too far away. He slowly raised a mud-covered hand and knocked on the door. There was no response, so he knocked again, harder.

"Please, is there anyone here? Please let me in," he called in a painfully raspy voice. He knocked again, and this time he heard a voice answer him from inside.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." The door opened, revealing a blond girl wearing a T-shirt, loose shorts, and a very annoyed expression. "What do you want?" she snapped.

"I...I don't..." The girl suddenly flicked on the porch light, and the boy winced at the brightness. He heard a sharp gasp.

"L-L-Len?" Her eyes were wide with shock.

"Len? Is that me?" he asked. Something clicked in his memory at the sound of the name. "Rin? You're Rin, right?" The girl only stared, then she started shaking.

"How... How... How...?" She reached out and gently touched his cheek, then quickly pulled her hand back.

"Rin? What's wrong?" She suddenly shook her head.

"Nothing. Actually, everything's great. You must be tired, come inside." She stepped back, and he entered the house.

"You've been missing for two months, where were you? And why are you covered in mud?" Rin led Len to the bathroom. The exhausted boy quickly sank down onto the cold tiles and rested his head in his hands.

"The first thing I remember is being in a river. I got out of it and remembered the address of this place, so I came here."

"You don't know anything else?"

"I didn't even know my own name until you said it," Len muttered. Rin sat down on the edge of the bathtub.

"Do you remember who I am?" she asked.

"Um... you're Rin?" She sighed.

"I'm your sister. How could you forget that?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything besides what I told you."

"So... you've forgotten everything?" He nodded. "Well, let me give you a little history lesson. We're twins, this is our house, and two months ago you went missing."

"Missing?" Rin nodded.

"Just disappeared one day. Couldn't be found anywhere." Len looked down at the floor. What had happened to him before tonight? He glanceded at his mud-covered clothes and wondered. "Look, you're filthy. Why don't you take a shower and get all that stuff off?" Len blinked.

"Uh, okay," he said. Rin stood up and walked to the door.

"I'll go grab some clothes from your room for you," she said as she turned the doorknob.

"Hey." Rin stopped and looked back at him. "Why are you so calm about all this? Your twin brother has been missing for two months, and when he shows up in the middle of the night you act like it's perfectly normal?" Rin blinked and tilted her head slightly.

"Well, I guess I'm a little in shock right now. Maybe that's why." She smiled at him. "I'm going to get your clothes now, okay?"

After she left, Len just sat there and stared at the wall. Everything felt surreal, like in a dream.

After he finished his shower and got dressed (he would clean all of the mud out of the floor later) Len wiped the fog off of the bathroom mirror and stared at the unfamiliar face he saw. Now that all the mud was gone, he could see that he was pale and had bright blond hair. His eyes still looked unusually bright, and he was a little freaked out by them. He noticed a dark mark on his neck and leaned closer to the glass. It was a ring of mottled bruising that ran around his neck like a purple-and-black collar. He gently touched the bruise with his fingers, wondering again what had happened to him.

He opened the bathroom door and went to find Rin. She was in the kitchen, making waffles. It was getting light outside, so she had decided to go ahead and fix breakfast. She glanced up when Len walked in, and her eyes widened when she saw the bruising on his neck.

"Oh my God," she muttered.

"If you don't open that waffle iron, you'll burn your food," Len said. Rin quickly turned and opened the iron.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"No, I'm just tired," Len said as he sat down on the couch.

"Maybe you should-" Rin turned around and stopped. Len had leaned back into the couch cushions and fallen asleep. Rin looked at him for a second, then quietly walked over to the couch. She leaned over and inspected the dark bruises on his neck. "It's real," she muttered to herself. "How is this possible?"

"I'm coming, hold your horses," Rin called as she walked to the door. She was answered by another light tapping on the door. Rin opened the door to see a girl with green twintails and a wide smile.

"Good morning, Rin-chan! Have you had breakfast yet?"

"I just finished eating," Rin said. "Why are you here so early, Miku?"

"Well, Miku was hoping that if she went over to Rin-chan's house early enough, she could eat breakfast with her. Clearly, Rin just shattered Miku's hopes and dreams." Rin smiled at the pout that suddenly replaced her friend's smile.

"Maybe Miku should call ahead of time so that Rin will know to wait for her," she said.

"I wanted it be a surprise!" Miku blinked at her own outburst, and quickly looked at the ground. "You've been all alone since Len disappeared, and I thought..." She trailed off quietly.

"Well, that's very nice of you, but I'm afraid something came up and I won't be able to go with you-"

"What? But you promised a week ago that we would go today!"

"I know, but-"

"Rin? What's going on?" Both girls jerked. Miku's eyes widened, and she quickly shoved past Rin into the house. Len was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a confused look on his face. His eyes widened as Miku ran and tackle-hugged him to the floor.

"LEN-KUUUUUUUNN!" Rin let out a sigh and closed the door.

"Um, what are you doing?" Len asked Miku.

"It's so good to see you! You've been gone for so long and I was so worried-" Miku pulled back to look at him and frowned. "You look pale, and why is your neck so bruised?"

"I don't know, and will you please GET OFF, you're kind of making it hard to breath." Miku blinked, a slightly hurt look crossing her face, then she got off Len and stood up.

"Well, this little reunion is nice and all, but I think Miku needs to leave-"

"What?" Miku looked at Rin.

"Len probably needs some more sleep, so I think-"

"But I was so worried! I want to know where Len's been all this time, and why he's so banged up!"

"He doesn't know," Rin snapped. "He forgot everything, even his own name." Miku looked down at Len, who was still sitting on the floor.

"You don't remember me then, do you?" she asked. Len avoided her wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I can't answer any of your questions, and I don't recognize you."

"But... I'm Miku! I've been friends with you and Rin since we were all little kids!" For a moment she looked like she was about to cry, then she blinked hard and forced herself to smile. "Well, never mind all that! I guess you and I will just have to start from scratch!"

"But not right now," Rin said quickly. "Good bye, Miku." She grabbed the green-haired girl by her shoulders and pushed her to the door.

"Wait, Rin-" Rin shoved her outside and closed the door.

"Why did you do that? She seems nice," Len protested. Rin turned and smiled, but it looked forced.

"Miku's a sweet girl, but she can be a bit too much sometimes. Are you hungry?" Len frowned as he stood up.

"No."

"Oh. I guess I'll just fix you some coffee then, you probably need something to wake you up."

She went back to the kitchen, and Len wandered down the hall to his bedroom. He stood in the doorway and looked at the unfamiliar room. He noticed a board covered with photos hanging on the wall above his bed. He looked at it curiously. A lot of the pictures were of him, Rin, and Miku. It looked like they were really close friends. He noticed that in the photos, his eyes were not as pale and bright as they were now. Why had that changed?

"Hey, here's your coffee." Len turned to see Rin standing beside him, holding a steaming mug in one hand.

"Thanks," he said as he took the coffee. He swallowed a mouthful and frowned at the taste.

"You know, you've changed quite a bit since you disappeared," Rin said as she looked at the photos.

"You noticed?" She nodded.

"I know you like the back of my hand, Len." The two siblings were quiet for several minutes, and Len took another swallow of coffee. He frowned as he looked down into the cup. Something felt strange. A bitter taste was crawling up his throat, and the warmth of the coffee cup in his hand felt foreign. He blinked as he remembered something.

"I don't drink coffee," he muttered.

"What?" Rin looked at him quickly.

"I don't drink coffee, so why would you-" He dropped the mug as his stomach lurched. Len turned and ran for the door, but he suddenly became dizzy and fell. He tried to stand back up, but he wasn't really sure which way was up. The room was spinning and becoming dark, and he collasped. He felt the carpet against his cheek before everything went black.

It was like a dream. Len felt the chain around his neck, its links biting into his skin as it was pulled tighter and tighter. He saw her face over him, her eyes staring into his coldly as a smile pulled at her lips. It was Rin, and she was strangling him. He pulled desperately at the chain, fighting just for a chance to breathe, but Rin wouldn't allow it. He saw the look of contempt on her face as his struggles weakened. Then everything was gone.

Len woke up on the floor. He sat up slowly and looked around. Rin was gone, and his coffee cup was still laying on the floor where he had dropped it. His fingers slowly lifted to touch the bruises on his neck. It hadn't been a dream, it was a memory. His stomach lurched again, his throat suddenly burning, and he got up and ran to the kitchen. He threw up into the trash can, then he heard a sharp gasp. He looked up to see Rin standing at the sink, staring at him.

"Why aren't you dead?" she breathed. He straightened up and glared at her. He didn't know it, but his eyes were even brighter now, burning with a pale light as he looked at his sister.

"Why?" His voice was sharp. "Why did you kill me? Why would you do something like that?" She didn't answer. Len suddenly grabbed her by her shoulders. "What did I do wrong? What did I do to make you kill me?" He shook her angrily when she still didn't answer. "Tell me, Ri-"

Rin's hand shot behind her into the sink, grabbed a knife, and stabbed it into her brother's chest. She let a smirk spread her lips as Len's eyes widened in surprise. She took his hands off her shoulders and shoved him to the floor roughly.

"Hmmm... I don't really know why I did it," Rin said. She watched with an amused look on her face as Len's hands wrapped around the handle of the knife. He looked up at her, his eyes filled with pain and confusion.

"I'm your brother," he said in a rough rasp.

"So?" Rin said as she shrugged. Len closed his eyes and lowered his head. Rin didn't care that she had killed her own twin. He had a sadist for a sister.

Len looked back up at her, his shining eyes narrowed. With a sudden jerk, he pulled the knife out of his chest. It hurt more than he could even describe, but his eyes stayed fixed on his sister's face. He started to stand, the knife held in one hand, and Rin realized that her own life was in danger. She quickly grabbed the knife and knocked Len back down on his back. She plunged the knife into his chest again, then pulled it back out and stabbed him again. Blood poured from his wounds, but Len's pale eyes stayed fixed on her face.

"_Why won't you die?_" Rin shrieked. She went into a frenzy, splattering the kitchen floor with Len's blood as she stabbed him again and again _and again_. When she finally stopped, her brother lay in a pool of his own blood, his eyes half-closed and dull. Rin stood up and stepped back, her chest heaving with her frantic breath. She waited for a few moments, but Len didn't wake up. She let out a tired sigh as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of one blood-stained hand.

"You can take a lot, Len, but in the end you die just like everyone else," she said. "I don't know how you came back here after I strangled you, or why that poison earlier didn't work, but you're gone for good now." She let out a small giggle, then she turned to the sink and started washing her hands. She turned the water off and reached for a towel.

She froze when she heard a rough cough behind her.

Rin slowly turned around to see that Len had sat up. He looked up at her, his eyes even brighter than before as blood ran from the corners of his mouth.

"_No,_" she breathed. Len got to his feet, and Rin bolted. She ran to her room and slammed the door behind her, her fingers quickly locking the door. She heard footsteps that stopped in front of her room, then a light tap on her door. "_GO AWAY!_" Rin screamed. Len let out a low chuckle.

"You may not have an answer for my questions, but I have one for yours: I won't leave until you do. We were born together, Rin, and we'll die together."

"YOU _ARE_ DEAD!" Rin shrieked back to him.

"Then it's your turn, sis. Open the door, please."

"Miku, calm down!" Luka said sternly into her phone. The hysterical girl at the other end of the call just sobbed harder.

"They're gone! _They're gone!_"

"Who's gone?"

"Len and Rin! They found them, and they're dead!"

"_What?_"

"I saw it on the news. Somebody found their bodies in the Walker River. Len had been strangled and stabbed several times, but Rin didn't have a mark on her! They can't even figure out what killed her!"

"Oh my God," Luka breathed.

"They said that Rin had only been dead a little while, but that Len had been dead for two months. How is that possible?"

"He did go missing two months ago-"

"_But I saw him just a few days ago!_" Miku screamed. "I even talked to him! How could I have talked to Len_ if he was dead?_"

* * *

AN - I don't know why, but this was fun to write. I actually managed to finish it in a (relatively) short time. (Relatively for me means that it took a few days to write.)

This is based off/inspire by a Len song called Night Walker. The first time I heard it, the video didn't have English subtitles, so I guessed what was happening based off the PV itself. About halfway through writing this story I found a translation, and it turns out that a good many of my guesses were correct. I guess that shows that a picture is worth a thousand words in almost any language.

PS - In case you're wondering, after Rin strangled Len she buried him on the riverbank. When the storms came and the river flooded, it washed him out of his grave. That's why he was covered in mud and in the river.  
This story makes me hope that my family isn't full of sadists.


End file.
